Boeing, FAA reveal lessons learned on 787

Seven weeks after Boeing’s 787 was cleared to resume passenger flights, the jet’s troubles continue to prompt questions about the federal certification process.

The Federal Aviation Administration’s grounding of the 787 back in January “raises legitimate questions for the flying public about whether the certification process with the 787 worked as well as it should have,” Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., said Wednesday.

Mike Sinnett, Boeing’s chief engineer on the 787 program, told lawmakers the two battery incidents demonstrate the effectiveness of the design process.

The 787’s redundant safety features “prevented the battery failures from putting the airplane, its passengers or crew in jeopardy,” Sinnett said.

Boeing, however, found ways to improve the battery system on the 787, he said.

Sinnett was less enthusiastic about making the battery testing process used to certify the 787’s redesigned system the new standard. That testing process would be “overly conservative” and test the battery beyond what it would ever experience in flight, he said.

Both Boeing and FAA officials said they benefited from bringing in battery experts from outside the field of aviation to resolve the 787’s battery problems. That’s a step the FAA likely will duplicate in certifying new technology in the future, Gilligan said.